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Celebrating the successes of 2016

17 December 2016 | Posted by Sophie Hetherington

Season's Greetings from Beacon Planning!

We're wrapping up our busiest year to date, and our team is
looking forward to relaxing over the holidays. We'll be using the
skills we learned during our Birthday Event at the Cambridge
Cookery School, to indulge in some tasty festive treats!

We have enjoyed public recognition of our work, with the annual
survey of national planning consultancies listing Beacon within the
50 leading employers of planners in the country, and joint 7th in
the east of England. We were also proud to have several of our
projects nominated for awards. Examples include a scheme to
upgrade student accommodation at Trinity College won the title of
''Best Conservation, Alteration or Extension of an Existing Building''
at Cambridge's 2016 Design and Construction Awards. Beacon, as
a company, was shortlisted by the East of England branch of the
Royal Town Planning Institute for its work in the preparation of a
Masterplan for Girton College, Cambridge. In addition to this, the
Heong Gallery, which opened to the public in February, was
nominated for the regional RIBA East Awards 2016.

2016 has been highly successful for our Planning team, which has
expanded considerably. Rebecca Flood joined us in April, John
Dudding in August, and Janine Richardson in September, each
bringing unique knowledge and expertise to the table. This
combination of skills has brought positive outcomes to a wide
range of projects, including acting as expert witnesses in a public
inquiry regarding a wind turbine application in Bodham and
obtaining planning permission for many varied schemes including
175-home development in Blofield (Norfolk), Christ College
Library, The Heong Gallery at Downing College, and many more.

The Heritage team, joined by Emma Sharp in March, has also
moved from strength to strength, winning approval for the
restoration, conversion, and extension of heritage assets across
the country. Notable projects include providing heritage advice to
the GroundWork gallery in King's Lynn, preparing the Conservation
Area Appraisal for Wisbech, supporting works to many private
residences, Churchill College, and St John's College Cambridge.
Some longer-term projects also came to fruition, including plans to
enhance the Cambridge Union Society.

The company's commitment to supporting professional
development was shown when planning consultant Ella Murfet
gained RTPI membership in April, qualifying as a Chartered
Planner. The Planning team also hosted a work experience
student, Nathan Makwana, who has since joined Cambridge City
Council as a trainee planner. In the Heritage team, 2016 has seen
Head of Heritage Jo Burton complete her MSt in Interdisciplinary
Design for the Built Environment, and Sophie Hetherington
graduate with an MSt in Building History, both at Wolfson College,
Cambridge.